Laurel Hardware — Restaurant in West Hollywood

I’m writing as a long-time patron and neighbor who has loved Laurel Hardware for years—not just for the food and cocktails, but for the unique atmosphere that made it a standout in West Hollywood. It’s been a go-to for locals and friends visiting from out of town, a place where the casual, effortless California vibe met good music, solid food, and one of the most beautiful patios in the city.

Lately, however, something has shifted—and not for the better.

The recent changes toward a more “fine dining” direction, complete with staff in button-down shirts and black pants, feel disjointed and out of sync with what made Laurel Hardware special in the first place. If the menu had transformed to match that energy, perhaps it would make more sense. But it hasn’t. The food is still solid—but casual. Which is great! That’s exactly what this place should be. But you can’t slap formal wear on the staff and pretend it’s now a different tier of dining. That isn’t evolution—it’s aesthetic confusion.

What’s worse, prices have gone up significantly while portion sizes have gone down. The value simply isn’t there anymore. Laurel used to feel like a neighborhood gem—accessible, relaxed, effortlessly cool. Now it feels like it’s trying too hard to be something it’s not, and locals are starting to notice. At a time when the West Hollywood dining scene is overrun with concepts that prioritize Instagram appeal over substance, Laurel stood out for being grounded. These changes risk eroding that.

The heart of Laurel Hardware has always been the patio—a lush, open-air escape that never felt exclusive or overly curated. That breezy, unpretentious charm made the food taste better, the drinks hit harder, and the whole experience feel like an extension of the California lifestyle. This new direction—stuffy, self-serious, and overpriced—puts all of that at risk.

Please reconsider. Laurel Hardware doesn’t need to be “fine dining.” It needs to be Laurel Hardware: effortlessly cool, genuinely welcoming, and appropriately priced for the experience it delivers. That’s what brought us here. That’s what kept us coming back.

Sincerely, A Loyal (but...

A complete and total service and hospitality failure detracting from what would otherwise be a highly effective food and beverage programme in a sheek yet cozy atmosphere. The dysfunction began with our party of 4 waiting 45min to be seated. On a Wednesday. With a reservation. It got worse when we were seated at a dirty corner table without menus and the hostess failed to communicate with the server that we'd been seated. After being ignored a further 10min a visibly flustered waitress apologized and brought us 3 paper menus for 4 people. Waters ran out and we had to ask multiple people for refills. As our food orders came out nobody came to bus finished dishes off the table, so food runners literally had to stack dishes on previously finished plates. They comped us an appetizer and a dessert for their struggles, but for a several hundred dollar meal tab this level of service is frankly unacceptable, especially in LA where trendy restaurants open every week.

As for the drinks menu, it was focused more on clear liquors (vodka tequila) and of the six drinks we tried between the 4 of us they were all pretty outstanding. Standouts were the juice box marg, frozen lavender marg, and the gangster.

The food was excellent enough to make the evening not a total write off. The lollipop brussel sprouts were signature, and the burrata and squash pizza were equally delightful. The salmon was OK, but could be safely skipped. The bread pudding and creme brulee were both without fault and quite nice. My only fault was with the avocado and citrus salad, which regrettable had a hair in it and even more regrettably had ZERO AVOCADO. If you're charging 25$ for an avocado salad, there better be an avocado in it. There was not, and that is not OK.

Parking situation is not great. Metered street parking for 2hrs meant I had to go pay the meter during our meal (see above waiting 45 min to be seated).

It pains me to see such an excellent food and cocktail menu ravaged by managerial incompetence, but if it's this dysfunctional on a Wednesday I'd hate to be here on a Saturday. Needless to say, I won't be back and I don't recommend...

Update from May 2025

This was our second time at LH in the past year. This time we came with a party of 8 and brought our puppy with us. The manager and the bouncer Omar were super friendly and super helpful. My mother in law was without who needed special access to the outdoor patio and they accommodated us with patience and courtesy. Place was packed just like the last time we were there. The outdoor patio is just delightful. I ordered the mushroom pizza that was very tasty and well prepared. I also tasted by sons prosciutto and fig pizza and my wife’s margaherita pizza that weee well put together. Although my sons suggestion is to have fig slices instead of chunks so every bite gets a piece of the fig. Only complaint was that my sons branzino arrived about 45 mins after everyone got their food and we were all done with our food. The waitress comped us the branzino. Ambiance at this place is awesome and we found paid papering on the side street. Highly recommended and kudos to the manager and Omar for the help and kindness. Other than the delay in branzino, 5 stars.

————-/ August 2024

We came to this place for pre dinner drinks for our anniversary. I saw a reel on insta about the most romantic setting restaurants in LA and this was one of them. I fell in love with the picture of the outdoor patio and the lights. We came at 6:30 and the place was packed. Luckily for me we got a table in the patio and it was awesome. I had the frozen margarita which was awesome. Just awesome. Have to get it. My wife got the spiced up old fashioned and we also ordered the brussel sprouts. All great....